I agree, your previous two sails were way too close in size. With your two boards, I'd be thinking 5.5, 7.0 & 8.5 And I feel the smartest approach is to get all of the same make & line, e.g., all Retros. That way the feel, tuning, etc., is consistent from one sail to the next so you can transition smoothly.

Don't fall into the trap of trying to get everything to fit on one mast: for one thing, that generally requires you to use too much extension (or too much headcap), but I also find I like to keep two sails rigged at once, so you can switch back and forth without losing valuable sailing time.

Second, invest in an adjustable outhaul -- it allows you to always set your downhaul in essentially the same place and then feather the power up & down as needed.

In other words, spending a little more on masts and an OA ensures that you get everything you can out of your quiver.

I live in Oregon, but we vacation at Lake Michigan every summer to visit family. I've sailed between South Haven and Saugatuck a few times over the years, but not since I moved to Oregon. Last summer I bought a 103L Mistral Screamer (old school narrow design) and a quiver and took it to Michigan to have on hand in case there's ever a good windy day. Wouldn't want to miss it! Lake Michigan is a lot of fun on a good day!

I have sails from 4.7 up to 6.7 that rig fine on the 460cm mast. If I were really serious about getting sailing time on Lake Michigan I think I would add the biggest sail I could possibly fit on my 460cm mast with 40cm extension. That would probably be 7.5-8.0. And I would get another board in the 115-135L range for the big sail.

But I am cheap, and most of my sailing fix comes from the gorge which is so much more reliable. So I will be content with having a decent moderate wind kit stashed away in Michigan in case I get lucky one of these years.

You might consider a trip to the gorge to get some great sailing and cheap used gear. Time your trip to hit one of the many swap meets and you'll have a good chance at picking up good stuff for a good price.

While scargo is right that having multiple masts and booms matched to the sails is ideal, I personally have not experienced much trouble rigging a smaller sail on a larger than ideal mast or vice-versa (within reason). Maybe I am not refined enough of a sailor to notice small performance differences. If money is not a concern and you really want the best possible setup, get the "full monte". I get along just fine with my relatively inexpensive, but less than ideal setup.

Excellent advice here, thanks to everybody! I'm particularly glad to hear that the wider ranges in modern sails mean I can broaden the range of my purchases.

Folks were asking what I weigh, the answer is 177 pounds, 6'1" (80 kilos, 186cm). I assume people asked for the same reasons weight appears in the sail calculator (which I am now checking out)?

I was always planning to buy 2 masts/booms, one each for Holland and Chicago. If I go for 3 sails I'll keep the big one in Holland for the 160L (where I can't cherry-pick the wind) and the small one for the 118L in Chicago (where I can). A medium size sail can get carted around without annoying my wife.

Without compromising too much, it seems possible to get masts compatible with small medium and medium/large sails respectively.

I'm particularly glad to hear that the wider ranges in modern sails mean I can broaden the range of my purchases.

Even 20 years ago, I had no problem going back and forth between my two-cam 6.8 and my camless 5.2; my 5.7 was wasted. Today, I THOROUGHLY enjoy my 6.2 until it's time for my 4.7, all camless. If my only objective was speed, I'd stay on the 6.2 even longer, but for me WSing is all about maneuvering with lots of power, so my gap is narrower than what is necessary for straight line sailing. You might thus consider picking your sail sizes based on the range of winds you expect and learning to bridge the gap with skills and fins. With that approach a 1.5 sq m to even 2 m gap is reasonable in that size range.

Hey Brian, there is no 2010 Exocet Cross 118lt . Yours is probably an older model. If by a chance it's the 2008 model you might have gotten yourself a perfect medium wind board for Lake Michigan. Why? Check this detailed test:
http://www.boardseekermag.com/windsurfing-equipment-tests/exocet-cross-118-2008.html
Believe me, you don't want too much speed on the Big Lake, you want controll. You'll find recommendations in this test about sail sizes , fins, foot straps for this board and from what I've read a 7.5 and a 6.0 no-cam freeride sails combination and 36 and 40cm fins will work fantastic and cover a 15-25 mph winds easily.
I would get rid of the BIC Techno 160 if I were you. I had this board as a transition between the beginner tankers and short boards. It's heavy and slow and gets out of control easily. There are awesome early planing boards out there if you are interested.
For wave riding on the other hand you'll need something smaller like 90ish lt FSW for example and smaller sails for high winds, or as often happens on Lake Michigan when there are waves but no wind - a WindSUP.
I can't comment on your long board.
For more tips you can ask us on: http://www.windsurfillinois.com/

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